Stretch panty girdle



1956 s. L. WELSCH ET AL 3,283,759

STRETCH PANTY GIRDLE Filed June 29, 1964 FIG. 4.

INVENTORJ SAMUEL L. WEI. 56' B A? V/A G BEA k/A mazm United StatesPatent Filed June 29, 1964, Ser. No. 378,777 3 Claims. (Cl. 128528) Thepresent invention relates generally to an improved panty girdle, theimprovements more particularly being concerned with the supporting andbody restricting forces applied by the garment.

In line with the usual function of a panty girdle as a body supportingand restricting garment it is constructed entirely or substantially of asuitable streach material. Maximum beneficial effect of the use of thismaterial, however, is not realized when the panty girdle is patterned ina conventional way as is a blouse or similar garment which is not madeof stretch material.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide astretch panty girdle which is so patterned that the body supporting andrestricting forces of the garment exceed those normally obtained fromthe stretch material being used to fabricate the garment.

Another object is to provide these body supporting and restrictingforces in preferred and essential locations of the garment.

Still another object is to provide a panty girdle which is effective inapplying body supporting and restricting forces without discomfort tothe wearer.

Various other objects and advantages will appear from the followingdescription of one embodiment of the invention, and the novel featureswill be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection With theappended claims.

Included within the scope of the present invention is a panty girdlemade entirely of stretch material and having a main body portion and legencircling portions attached thereto. These two portions in theconstruction of the garment are more particularly attached to each otheralong confronting edges which start in the sides of the garment andextend diagonally and downwardly across the buttocks and into the crotchof the panty girdle. According to an essential teaching of the presentinvention these confronting edges are provided with dissimilar contourswhich during attachment are made to conform to each other such that theportions of the stretch material along and adjacent the line ofattachment are under tension and exert desirable supporting and bodyrestricting forces on the wearer.

The invention will be better understood when considered in connectionwith the accompanying specification and drawings forming a part thereof,in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the assembled garment 0f the present inventionin three dimensional perspective;

FIG. 2 is a side view projected from FIG. 1, in section, taken on lines2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the garment of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded plan view of the panels of the garment in thefiat.

Illustrated in the drawings is a stretch undergarment 10, better knowncommercially as a panty girdle, which consists of an upper main bodyportion 12 encircling the body of the wearer (not shown) in the bodypelvic region and leg encircling portions 14. Said leg encirclingportions 14 in the front of the garment 10 are an integral part of thepanels making up the front of the garment, and in the back of thegarment are formed by rear panels integrated into the garment bylap-over seams, generally designated 16, which are provided alongvertical lines 17 in the garment crotch region 20 (see FIG. 2) as wellas in the opposite sides of the garment, and also along symmetricalapparent converging lines 19 starting at opposite side points 18 andextending diagonally across the rear of the garment into the crotchregion 20. The garment will be understood to be made primarily of asuitable all directions stretch material, as for example that identifiedby the well known trademark Lycra, and as a consequence has an inherentcapability of applying supporting and body restricting forces in alldirections, and particularly along the horizontal lines, collectivelydesignated 22, in FIG. 1.

As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the garment front 24 is formed byidentical front left and .right panels 2 6 and 28 and an abdomen panel30, said panel 30 being joined to the panels 26, 28 by a lap-over seam32 to shape accommodating upper portions 34 of the inner edges 36 ofthese front panels. From panel 30 the remainder of the inner edges 36 ofthe front panels 26, 28 are joined together in abutment forming acentral front seam 38 which extends into the crotch 20 of the garment10. As previously mentioned, the lower portions 40 of the front panels26 and 28 and a pair of lower left and right rear panels, moreparticularly designated 42 and 44, form the leg encircling garmentportions 14 when the confronting edge portions of these panels,designated 46 and 48 in FIG. 4, are joined together along the verticallines 17 in lap-over seams 16 in the side and crotch of the garment 10.

The seat 54 of the body portion 12 of the garment 10 is formed byidentical upper left and rig-ht rear panels 56 and 58 attached alonginner confronting edges 60 in abutment forming a rear center seam 62starting at the body opening 64 of the garment and extending downwardlycentrally of the buttocks and into the crotch 20 which, as is best shownin FIG. 4, is completed by the joining of the edge 66 presented by theattached panels 56 and 58 to the edge portions 68 of the inner edges 36of the front panels 26 and 28 adjacent the front center seam 38. Areinforcing seat panel 70, which also functions as a stretch con trolpanel, is then stitched down in an obvious manner, as by the stitching72, on the inside of the garment 10 over the back center seam 62' toprevent this seam from causing any discomfort to the wearer.

Attachment of the lower left and right [rear panels 42 and 4 4 to theattached upper left and right rear panels 58 and 60, in a mannersubsequently to be described in detail, completes the entire garmentrear portion 74 which is then joined to the front garment portion 24 byrelatively wide lap-over seams 76 starting at the body opening 64 andextending along zig-zag generally vertical lines 78 to the leg openings80. The position of the lap-over seams 76 are thus along the hips of thewearer, and due to the relatively wide over-lap of the panels formingeach seam desirable supporting and body restricting forces are appliedto this body area.

Returning to the attachment of the upper and lower right and left rearpanels to each other, it will particularly be noted fro-m FIG. 3 thatthis attachment, in three dimensional perspective, by being made alongthe apparent inwardly converging lines 19 starting at points 18 on theside lap-over seams 76 and terminating in the crotch 20 of the garmentis advantageously positioned diagonally across the buttocks and in acritical garment area where it is necessary for the garment 10 to havesupporting and body restricting forces. Such forces result in part fromattaching these panels to each other by the already men tioned lap-overseams 16. More important, the shape or contour of the confronting edges84 of corresponding sets of rear upper and lower panels, (i.e. panels56, 42, and panels 58, 44), as best shown in FIG. 4, are purposefullycut dissimilar, and thus are not matching in shape as would be expectedof edges joined to each other in the flat. That is, at least along themajor portion of each of the edges 84, as from point A to point B, theconfronting contours may best be characterized as opposing concaveshapes. In the sewing together of these confronting edges 84 in alap-over seam 16, use is made of a conventional sewing machine guideattachment to maintain a uniform seam width C, and hand manipulation bythe sewing machine operator is required to conform the dissimilarcontoured panel edges 84 to each other throughout the lapover seam 16.Thus, the conformed edges 84 which make up the diagonal lap-over seams16 are under tension as is the stretch material 16a adjacent thereto andexert supporting and body restricting forces when the garment is worn.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the herein describedpreferred embodiment of a panty girdle 10 of the present invention thusapplies supporting and body restricting forces in all critical bodyareas when the garment is worn, both as a consequence of the stretchmaterial of which it is made, and also due to its unique construction.To summarize, these forces are applied by the abdomen panel 30 (whichhas stretch primarily only in the vertical direction) transversely ofthe abdomen, and by the side lap-over seams 76 along the hips, and bythe rear lap-over seams 16 and stretch material 16a adjacent theretodiagonally across the buttocks.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thespecific construction or arrangement of parts shown, but that they maybe Widely modified within the invention defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A stretch panty girdle garment fabricated of stretch material andincluding an upper main body portion and leg encircling portionsintegral therewith and forming the front and side portions thereof, reargarment panels secured to said main body portion along seam linesstarting at the upper back portion of the garment and extending in azig-zag generally vertical line along the sides of the garment andhaving lower edges thereon extending diagonally and downwardly acrossthe buttocks covering portion of the garment and into the crotch of saidgarment, and rear leg encircling panels each having an upper edgethereon .and secured along said upper edges to said lower edges of saidrear garment panels, said upper edges and said lower edges havingdissimilar contours which are conformed to each other during thesecurement of said rear leg encircling panels to said rear garmentpanels, whereby the stretch material adjacent and along said line ofsecurement is under tension and exerts supporting and body restrictingforces on a wearer of the garment.

2. A stretch panty girdle garment as defined in claim 1 wherein thecontour of said upper edges of the rear leg encircling panels and thecontour of said lower edges of said garment rear panels are opposingconcave shapes.

3. A stretch panty girdle garment, as defined in claim 1 wherein saidseam lines along said rear garment panels and main body portion aresecured to each other are each formed as a relatively wide lap-over areaalong said side of the garment for applying supporting and bodyrestricting forces along the hips of a wearer of the garment.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS ADELE M. EAGER,Primary Examiner.

1. A STRETCH PANTY GIRDLE GARMENT FABRICATED OF STRETCH MATERIAL ANDINCLUDING AN UPPER MAIN BODY PORTION AND LEG ENCIRCLING PORTIONSINTEGRAL THEREWITH AND FORMING THE FRONT AND SIDE PORTIONS THEREOF, REARGARMENT PANELS SECURED TO SAID MAIN BODY PORTION ALONG SEAM LINESSTARTING AT THE UPPER BACK PORTION OF THE GARMENT AND EXTENDING IN AZIG-ZAG GENERALLY VERTICAL LINE ALONG THE SIDES OF THE GARMENT ANDHAVING LOWER EDGES THEREON EXTENDING DIAGONALLY AND DOWNWARDLY ACROSSTHE BUTTOCKS COVERING PORTION OF THE GARMENT AND INTO THE CROTCH OF SAIDGARMENT, AND REAR LEG ENCIRCLING PANELS EACH HAVING AN UPPER EDGETHEREON AND SECURED ALONG SAID UPPER EDGES TO SAID LOWER EDGES OF SAIDREAR GARMENT PANELS, SAID UPPER EDGES AND SAID LOWER EDGES HAVINGDISSIMILAR CONTOURS WHICH ARE CONFORMED TO EACH OTHER DURING THESECUREMENT OF SAID